Heather Wolpert-Gawron is a middle school ELA teacher, 21st Century Learning Instructional Coach, curriculum design geek, and PBL coach. She has written many books including her latest, Just Ask Us: Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement. Heather blogs on her site, TweenTeacher and is a staff blogger on Edutopia, a Fellow of the National Writing Project, and a National Faculty member of the Buck Institute.

I was fortunate to spend some time with Heather at the CUE conference where we geeked out. I just knew I had to learn more about her. It was a hoot having a conversation with Heather so I hope you get a chance to listen to her podcast and read the post we put together. Enjoy!
 
About you and your family
I am wife to Royce, whom I met in 2nd grade, after karate-chopping him at recess. Additionally, I am a mom to two boys, both of whom always have leaves in their hair from some adventure or other. She lives with all of her boys and their boxer/corgi mix, their laughter, and chaos, in Los Angeles, CA where they play Dungeons & Dragons every week, building their cross-over stories and adventures together.

You know how you never can find a picture of the whole family because someone’s always the one taking the picture? Well, here’s the most recent of us four. I was away presenting at the AMLE conference in Florida this year, and I end each night when I’m away either reading to the boys via Facebook or listening to them and their day. This was a typical day’s end moment of Royce trying to hold down the fort before signing off for the night.
 
What education was like when you were young
I was a real disengaged student. I went to some great schools but I found ways to do the minimum. I got easy Bs if I like you and tried harder and got some As, but I also got Cs and even a couple Ds in my time. I understand those kids who skirt through school never really being triggered by something exciting. So it was kind of a surprise for me when I realized I wanted to be a teacher which I found kind of late in life.
 

Your journey as an educator
I went back to school for my credential again was another eye-opening experience because I sat there listening to how to collaborate and do hands-on learning by reading about it in a book. I realized that this lack of engagement was a theme not just in K-12 but beyond. That became a huge focus for me and fueled my interest in project-based learning. It also propelled me to write my latest book and to this passion for engagement. This quote from Kerry Gallagher stuck with me: “Engagement first, then content, then rigor in that order.” You can’t have it any other way. That’s why I am trying to bring engagement standards to the same level of importance as content standards. You can’t teach kids if they don’t want to learn. If we want to be a voice in their heads, we have to be applicable to what’s going on.
What do we do with the kids that do not know how to play the game of school and are disengaged? Being boring is offensive to me. I mean, you are in front of kids. Some teachers heard a message early on that misled them. I think that they just have to rewind to who they were.
Video Trailer for “Just Ask Us”
 

Let’s talk about your book “Just Ask Us”
In the book, “Just Ask Us,” I share the results of my nationwide survey of 6th-12th graders. In that survey, I asked one simple question: What engages you as a learner? No matter what model of school, what state, what type of environment (rural, suburban, city),